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The union claimed overwhelming backing for a strike, saying a
ballot of its members produced 61,623 votes in favour, 76 per cent of
the poll.

But Post Office bosses said that represents fewer than half
their 141,000 workforce of whom only 121,000 are union members.

CWU general secretary Billy Hayes at the TUC conference last month, left, and Royal Mail chief executive Adam Crozier

Royal Mail was already facing a deep financial crisis, with
its services irrevocably damaged by thousands of branch closures and
delivery and collection cutbacks and its finances disastrously
undermined by EU rules that let foreign competitors grab many of its
best customers.

Industrial action: Customers are being urged to desert Royal Mail as 76 per cent of CWU members voted to strike

Annual revenues have collapsed to around £1billion below
expectations in the past year and there is a vast black hole in its
pension scheme, which some estimates put at a staggering £7billion.

Only last week the regulator Postcomm said: 'Royal Mail
Letters' finances are weak and deteriorating' and agreed to an
emergency 3p rise in the cost of first class stamp.

Now a national strike over its modernisation plans could threaten the organisation with bankruptcy.

Business Secretary Lord Mandelson has come under fire for
apparently going missing during the most damaging industrial dispute of
recent years.

Robert Keitch, head of the Direct Marketing Association, said a strike would be 'colossal' for the economy.

'It will deal a severe body blow to every company that relies on
the post to issue invoices, collect payments and market their products
and services,' he said.

Shadow
Business Secretary Ken Clarke said: 'Royal Mail is slipping into
insolvency and nothing is being done. This strike is the most foolish
and irresponsible for many years.

So why are Royal Mail workers striking?

The CWU accuses Royal Mail of planning to cut jobs and pay without proper consultation

Royal Mail claims letter and parcel delivery side of business is falling by 10% each year and so cuts must be made

The Government has so far refused to intervene

Have jobs been lost and postal services reduced?

Yes, 50,000 jobs in the past five years and the
second daily delivery axed

When is the first strike likely to take place?

Union must give 7 days notice before striking so first action could take place in just over a week's time at the earliest

How disruptive will strike action be?

Two 48-hour strikes in 2007 brought deliveries to a standstill and cost the UK an estimated £300million

Business who use standard mail will suffer the most

Are there other concerns?

Yes, the Royal Mail pension fund reported a £3.5 billion deficit and there are concerns over possible
privatisation

'The business needs to be reorganised into a functioning
delivery service as quickly as possible, but the Government appears to
have gone into a state of total inactivity.'

'The bottom line is that there are no winners in this dispute.
Royal Mail customers are already finding alternative ways of
communicating and many will not return once the dispute is over.'

Dr Adam Marshall, of the British Chambers of Commerce, said:
'This strike announcement defies logic at a time when businesses and
Government are working hard to move the UK economy back to growth.

'The CWU's call for strike action in the run-up to the busy Christmas period is akin to a death wish.'

Royal Mail and the union, which has already held a series of
local strikes, are fighting over a modernisation plan that includes
thousands of job losses.

Workers are also angry over a pay freeze by Royal Mail, which
announced operating profits of £321million for the last financial year.

For its part, the management says it wants staff to put in a full eight-hour day and drop costly working practices that date back to the 1970s.

Royal Mail managing director Mark Higson said: 'It is clearly
reprehensible for the union to continue to hold strikes. We have had
more than seven meetings with the CWU over the last few months and we
call on them now to stop the strikes, get back round the table and
talk.'

He accused the union of refusing to abide by modernisation plans agreed after a national strike in 2007.

Mr Higson added: 'Every letter is important to us and we
apologise unreservedly for the disruption and inconvenience our
customers have suffered as a result of the strikes'.

But CWU deputy general secretary Dave Ward described the
backing for a strike as a 'huge vote of no confidence in Royal Mail
management'.

He said: 'Royal Mail has never really been engaged in
modernisation. They've been running down the business, running down
services and cutting costs and it's that business plan that postal
workers have overwhelmingly rejected today.

'There's still an opportunity to reach an agreement before any national strike action takes place.'

Mr Ward said he regretted that the dispute had worsened, but warned that the postal service was being 'destroyed' by cuts.

He urged the Government to intervene, saying it was responsible for many of the company's problems.

Postal affairs minister Lord Young said last night: 'A national
strike is completely self-defeating and will only hurt consumers and
businesses. Royal Mail must modernise and these strikes will slow down
that essential process. The company's financial position is
precarious.'